White Balsamic-Jicama Slaw

Summer at the beach is unthinkable without coleslaw, but sometimes I hanker for something a bit out of the ordinary. I combined napa cabbage, a more delicate cousin to regular cabbage, with crunchy jicama, dressed it with white balsamic vinegar and mayo, and sprinkled on fennel seed to create what has become my new summer fave. This sturdy salad travels with ease, whether you're taking it to the beach or to a summer party with friends. Another plus: you can make it up to 24 hours in advance.

Ingredients

1 large jicama (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled and cut into large matchsticks

1 bunch chopped green onions, white part only

2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and cut into large matchsticks

3/4 cup dried currants or dried cranberries

White Balsamic Dressing

3 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tablespoon)

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (about 1 medium lime)

3 tablespoons honey

1/4 cup canola oil

1/4 cup Dijon mustard

1/2 cup white balsamic vinegar

1 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon fennel seeds

Advertisements

Preparation

To Make the Salad:

Trim off the cabbage's root end, thinly slice crosswise, then chop into pieces that can be easily picked up with a fork. Combine the cabbage, carrots, jicama, green onions, apples, and dried currants in a large bowl.

To Make the Dressing:

Vigorously whisk together the garlic, lime juice, honey, oil, mustard, balsamic vinegar, and mayonnaise in a medium bowl until the dressing is thoroughly combined. Whisk in the fennel seeds and pour the dressing over the cabbage mixture. Stir until the dressing evenly covers the slaw. The slaw will be a little soupy, which is just the way I like it. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until ready to serve.

Tip

Instead of by hand, you can mix the dressing in a food processor fitted with the metal blade, which will save you the hassle of chopping up garlic (you add it whole). You cannot, however, escape the slight hassle of peeling off the papery skin and slicing off the tips of each clove.

Variation

For those who plan to wear their summer shorts short, you can lighten the dressing: for the 1 cup mayonnaise, substitute 1/4 cup reduced-fat mayonnaise plus 3/4 cup nonfat or low-fat yogurt.

Alison Oresman has worked as a journalist for more than twenty years. She has written and edited for newspapers in Wyoming, Florida, and Washington State. As an entertainment editor for the Miami Herald, she oversaw the paper's restaurant coverage and wrote a weekly column as a restaurant critic. After settling in Washington State, she also covered restaurants in the greater Seattle area as a critic with a weekly column. A dedicated home baker, Alison is often in the kitchen when she isn't writing. Alison lives in Bellevue, Washington, with her husband, Warren, and their children, Danny and Callie.

A pastry chef, restaurateur, and cookbook author, native Texan Rebecca Rather has been proprietor of the Rather Sweet Bakery and Café since 1999. Open for breakfast and lunch daily, Rather Sweet has a fiercely loyal cadre of regulars who populate the café's sunlit tables each day. In 2007, Rebecca opened her eponymous restaurant, serving dinner nightly, just a few blocks from the café. Rebecca is the author of The Pastry Queen, and has been featured in Texas Monthly, Gourmet, Ladies' Home Journal, Food & Wine, Southern Living, Chocolatier, Saveur, and O, The Oprah Magazine. When she isn't in the bakery or on horseback, Rebecca enjoys the sweet life in Fredericksburg, where she tends to her beloved backyard garden and menagerie, and eagerly awaits visits from her college-age daughter, Frances.

Recent Reviews

I took a few liberties with this recipe. First off, I couldn't find white balsamic vinegar locally, so I substituted rice vinegar at another site's suggestion. I also used fennel bulb and incorporated the fine leaves (not the stems) into the dressing. The dried berries were omitted, but I think the texture and colour would have complimented nicely.
The result was phenomenal. The licorice flavor and honey accent the bitter/sour flavours wonderfully and the fennel leaves in the dressing enhanced the presentation, in my opinion. Julienning the vegetables was a lot of work by hand and the recipe yielded far too much for six people. The dressing was also too much for the salad, but it tastes so good that I'm sure I'll find other uses for it.

Deajei from SK, Canada /

Flag if Inappropriate

This salad was extremely flavorful and easy to make.
I did not use all the dressing, it made quite a lot.
It will be a hit with any gathering!
We even ate it in the winter with Lamb steaks...Super!

ChefBour from Atlanta, GA /

Flag if Inappropriate

This was a hit with the family on the 4th of July. I used Greek yogurt in place of the mayo as suggested by other reviewers; that is a MUST! I also eliminated the garlic and fennel seeds and it was still really good. This is a keeper.

dleising from Milwaukee, WI /

Flag if Inappropriate

This is a terrific recipe. I sub nonfat Greek yogurt for the mayo, but keep the rest the same. Healthy, tasty, fresh, does make a ton. Great for a summer picnic or brunch party.